Delaware News

Trial set for Dover custodian accused of killing man on school grounds

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Here are some of the top stories we're following for today. 5/17/19
Damian Giletto, The News Journal

Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect the correct details of the crime. We apologize for the error in the original Associated Press story.

A former Dover elementary school custodian is scheduled to face trial later this month for killing a man on school grounds last year.

Rodney West is charged with fatally shooting 39-year-old Derrick Combs at Towne Point Elementary School on Aug. 28.

Rodney West has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Derrick Combs on the grounds of Towne Point Elementary in Dover. (Photo: Dover police)

West and Combs, who was the husband of a former school secretary, had had an ongoing argument, according to court documents obtained by The News Journal.

Security video footage shows West, then 54, shooting Combs. West then got into his car and fled the school's parking lot about 10 p.m. – the end of his custodial shift at the school, court documents claim.

Dover Police, who responded to a gunshots complaint, found Combs dead. He'd been shot in his face, chest and lower abdomen, according to court documents.

Four 9 mm casings were found by his body.

Background:

Towne Point Elementary custodian charged with murder after fatal shooting

Man killed at Towne Point Elementary married to former employee

Towne Point Elementary shooting suspect returned to Delaware

West, who had been a Capital School District employee since November 2014 at the time of the crime, was found by U.S. Marshals in Montgomery County, Maryland.

He was later extradited to Delaware, where he was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

He is being held at Howard Young Correctional Institution on $480,000 bail.

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